WASHINGTON-The long-awaited advanced wireless services auction, with its high-rolling bidders expected to account for much of the $10 billion to $15 billion in anticipated license sales, could occur largely in the dark. The Federal Communications Commission, acknowledging the auction's high stakes and concerned about...
With the announcement of a joint CDMA handset venture between Sanyo Electronics Co. Ltd. and Nokia Corp., U.S. CDMA carriers could benefit from increased competition among vendors, and mobile virtual network operators might have a new option as they seek exclusive handsets to attract...
PORTLAND, Ore.—Metro One Telecommunications Inc. said it reached a settlement regarding the enhanced directory assistance services it provided to former Nextel Communications Inc. customers prior to Sprint Corp.’s acquisition of Nextel last year. Sprint Nextel Corp. terminated the master contract with Metro One as...
WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission wants to make sure that the sale of customer call records—which has erupted into this year’s biggest wireless scandal—has not been aided and abetted by employees inside telecommunications companies."Is there any evidence that dishonest insiders at the carriers are providing...
ESPOO, Finland—Nokia Corp. and Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. announced they plan to form a joint venture to build CDMA phones. The move likely will have major repercussions for the global wireless industry, and stands as evidence that no one company—no matter how successful—can go...
The Federal Communications Commission's planned auction of so-called "advanced wireless services" spectrum scheduled for June could spell a windfall for government coffers, though analysts are mixed on the amount of said windfall. The government has said it expects to generate $25 billion during the...
WASHINGTON-Late Friday, the Federal Communications Commission announced it will examine ways to strengthen the protection of customer call records. The agency is seeking comment on five specific measures proposed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center on the topic. The FCC's action was widely expected....
Postpaid customers may take for granted their ability to outfit their phones with jazzy ring tones, flashy wallpaper and nifty games, but prepaid customers historically haven't been offered those luxuries. Increasingly, however, prepaid services are beginning to include a wider selection of downloads and...
The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.CarriersPrudential Equity Group lowered its price target and estimates on iPCS Inc. after the company reported first-quarter results, including revenue and ARPU results that fell...
WASHINGTON-The Electronic Privacy Information Center upped the ante against the wireless industry, saying that if mobile-phone carriers can't protect customer call records, the carriers shouldn't collect the information. "We were disappointed that CTIA opposed our petition at the Federal Communications Commission," said Marc Rotenberg,...
Alltel Corp. is revamping its prepaid service to try to profit from recent trends. As the U.S. postpaid wireless market saturates, fourth-quarter results showed most carriers, including Alltel, registered a heavier prepaid and reseller mix among newly added customers. The country's fifth-largest carrier introduced...
Alltel Corp. officials emphasized plans to continue their conservative path during a company analyst day in New York last week, even though they said they remain optimistic going forward. "We've never been `let's swing for the fences' and bet everything on a roll of...
WASHINGTON- The Federal Communications Commission is expected to propose additional rules to protect cell-phone customer records later this month. Testifying before the House Commerce Committee, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin also asked that lawmakers strengthen laws to prohibit the commercial sale of call records. "We...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission is considering issuing additional rules for protecting cell-phone customer records later this month, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin told the House Commerce Committee Wednesday. Martin also asked that legislators strengthen laws to prohibit the commercial sale of the records. "We are...
WASHINGTON-The House of Representatives joined the Senate in introducing legislation that would criminalize pretexting-the practice of impersonating a customer to get their call records. Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) introduced the bill, which is similar to the Consumer Telephone Records Protection...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission proposed fining AT&T Inc. and Alltel Corp. each $100,000 for not having certifications on file showing that they are protecting their customers' call records. The FCC was forced to ask the five largest wireless and wireline companies for their certifications...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel Corp. launched a new iteration of its prepaid phone service, dubbed "U." Users of the U prepaid service can pay by the minute, day or month. Pay-per-minute customers are charged 15 cents per minute for weekday, night, weekend and mobile-to-mobile calls....
The U.S. wireless industry is on track to chronicle its best-ever quarterly customer growth, with more than 5.4 million net adds already reported by four of the largest carriers. In a record-smashing quarter, Verizon Wireless clocked 2 million net customer additions to pull past...
Three Christmases ago, Sue Nokes received a call from a T-Mobile USA Inc. customer who had been bumped up through the customer care system until he reached her. The man, Nokes recalled, told her that though he liked the carrier's customer service reps, he...
PORTLAND, Ore.-Directory assistance provider Metro One Telecommunications Inc. said it received notice that its stock is in danger of being de-listed from the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. The company said it plans to appeal the decision. Metro One's stock, which trades on the Nasdaq under...
The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.CarriersRobert W. Baird raised its 2006 estimates on BellSouth Corp. from EPS of $1.90 to $2.20 on a change in accounting related to acquisition-related amortization...
PORTLAND, Ore.-Directory assistance provider Metro One Telecommunications Inc. said it received notice that its stock is in danger of being de-listed from the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. The company said it plans to appeal the decision. Metro One's stock, which trades on the Nasdaq under...
Wireless loves advertising; the industry ranks third in terms of total ad dollars spent, behind the automotive and financial services industries. And while most of the wireless industry's commercials are entertaining, some drive me (and you too I bet) crazy.For example, Cingular Wireless L.L.C....
When Cingular Wireless L.L.C. managed to squeeze the launch of its 3G network into the last month of 2005, the move catapulted 16 major metropolitan cities into the spotlight as the most competitive 3G markets in the country. Cingular rolled out its BroadbandConnect service...
